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Friday, 2 March 2012

The legacy of Thomas Crapper.

Contrary to what some
might think, Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet; gosh what a name, I
am sure Mrs Crapper was pleased with him or as some might say his mum loved him.
He did, however, increased the popularity of the toilet and held nine patents
for plumbing products during the late 1800s being mostly known for the ballcock.
But what happened before?

Rome pioneered the
men’s public urinal, referred to as the “pissoir” or “Vespasienne.” It was either
simply out in the open or with a minimal degree of privacy; these devices
collected the urine for the use as dye, which was then sold. It took 1,700
years to catch up!

You probably think I
am joking if I tell you that as late as the 1700’s most commoners in Europe were
using outdoor pit toilets and chamber pots, making it a family affair since
there were enough seats for everyone; charming, can you imagine yourself
together with the family? And although the sixteenth century was probably a
turning point in toilet development it might not feel like it but believe me it
was.

Yet in the Middle
Ages, and the Crusades, castles were being constructed with “garderobes,” privies
with a couple of seats projecting off the side, with “any business” falling
into the moat below or down the sides of the castle into collectors below (yes
indeed that’s how it was and Lewes where I live had a priory of Cluniac monks
who were the pioneers of this ‘art’ in the 11th century). Public
toilets of any sort were few and far between.

And before that
people at night, resorted to the chamber pot. Simple and effective, those
filled with “liquid” would be emptied in the morning by tossing it out the
bedroom window onto the street below, a tradition that carried into the Middle
Ages (hmm, how lovely – and at the same time I can’t stop thinking of past
movies where I have seen this happen and how it made me laugh although I am
sure it was no laughing matter at the time).

Or like in some
facilities where the seats were cut into marble ledges on three of four sides,
with no dividers separating the seats. One had to pay to use these toilets
where socializing, politics, and business were done here. And before that I better not tell you, you can
imagine and actually you might not want to imagine since it wasn’t pretty or
pleasant; fields, rivers and rock piles were used when one needed to alleviate oneself.
But this was early in the human species evolution, where bathrooms were clearly
unnecessary, since we wandered about without any permanent settlements. Once we
settled and built dwellings, the need for facilities was necessary. And
therefore primitive toilet facilities were created, firstly outside of the
dwelling, and then eventually moved indoors.

The modern toilet
evolved in Britain and France in 1596, "J.D. Harrington, a relative of
Queen Elizabeth I, invented the water closet. In the years that followed,
"Harrington's toilet under the name Angrez was used in France;
interestingly it was not introduced on a large scale in England.

And this brings me to
a very important point; the idea of “privacy” while using the toilet is a very
modern concept, with its origins in the 1800s. It is important to remember that
the notion of “personal privacy” has evolved over the last couple of hundred
years due to economic prosperity.

It might seem
incredible to us today that Kings, princes and even generals treated it as a
throne at which audiences could be granted. And apparently Lord
Portland, when Ambassador to the Court of Louis XIV, was highly honoured to be
so received, plus it was from this throne that Louis announcedhis
marriage (now one would be shocked seeing either the queen or even PM Cameron
doing so, in this case one could say it was a smelly affair).

It wasn’t until in
the 1960s that more than one bathroom per household became the norm and in the
1970s the home bathroom was seen as more than an essential, which lead to larger
bathrooms and more elaborate designs.

In the late 1800s and
early 1900s functionality not design, was the ethos. And it was about then that
the privy was brought indoors. Today there is more of a balance between both;
fortunately privacy is one of the guiding principles of bathroom design.

Nowadays we accept it
as normal but you will be amazed to know that only in the early 1900s one hotel
entrepreneur in New York State began advertising “A Room and a Bath for a
Dollar and a Half.”

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